Someone who's been looking for the perfect tattoo design just hit the motherload.posted by codacorolla at 4:47 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

i am really curious about the connections b/w these and outsider motorcylce culture, and outsider motorcycle's cultural connections to nascent leather scenes.posted by PinkMoose at 4:52 PM on January 6, 2012

Someone who's been looking for the perfect tattoo design just hit the motherload.

This is lovely. Expression without flight.posted by Mblue at 5:27 PM on January 6, 2012

Marvelous pictures!

This now has be wondering what, if anything, would happen in a POW camp. Were these taken from them for any reason - all I can think is a large number of guys wore these in German camps.posted by fluffycreature at 5:38 PM on January 6, 2012

Man, war was so much cooler back then. All we have to show for our wars now are pictures of dudes kneeling naked in a pile of their own piss with a vicious dog barking in their face, or of a chubby pug-nosed chick pointing her thumbs at a bunch of prisoners.posted by ReeMonster at 6:44 PM on January 6, 2012

If each bomb means one complete mission, what do the parachute symbols mean? That you jumped and lived? This guy's got two of them.posted by vibrotronica at 7:10 PM on January 6, 2012

i am really curious about the connections b/w these and outsider motorcylce culture, and outsider motorcycle's cultural connections to nascent leather scenes.

From my studies of costume history, and the evolution of style tribes, It's basically some of those people became those initial bikers. Then spread in the groups as years went on, etc. I'm sure you could dig up more detail, but that's the skinny of it. Interesting side note, look at Japanese biker gangs from post war on (bosozoku) and you can see they tended to have a similar evolution, with connections to their military style.

I wish these were in color, while cool, i bet even more stunning in color. I'm also curious who did them, how, etc. Was there one guy in the group or did they each do their own? I've painted a leather jack in my time or two, or ten, bt the style is so similar that it got me even more interested.posted by usagizero at 7:10 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Someone who's been looking for the perfect tattoo design just hit the motherload.

Row-of-bombs lower back tattoos are gonna be all the rage.

With a woman that sorta looks like your mom in a pointy bra on your chest. - You sure you want that mister? These thing don't come off.posted by the noob at 10:03 PM on January 6, 2012

I'm always fascinated by the almost naive humor and sexuality expressed by such art (jackets, nose art, etc.) of that era. It somehow actually seems far richer than what today's culture would engender. One wonders what blunt, pornographic horrors would be emblazoned across their jackets today.posted by Thorzdad at 3:55 AM on January 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

My Amish aunties used to call me Snickelfritz.

Heh. My German grandpa called all his grandkids Snickelfritz, too.posted by Thorzdad at 3:56 AM on January 7, 2012

Nancy really got around didn't she? I'm imagining what happened when two pilots ran into each other at the officer's club and discover they each have the same girl on their back.

These are awesome. I wonder how many of these still exist in some old pilots closet, waiting to be discovered.posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:30 AM on January 7, 2012

My grandfather was a bombardier on a B-24. He stripped off his jacket and handed his duffel bag with all of his war gear to the first homeless person he saw when he disembarked from the troop ship that brought him home. He was just sick of the whole thing. It would be nice to know whether or not he customized his jacket and what his design was.

His first crew was shot down with all hands while he was on medical leave, so maybe that had something to do with it.posted by snottydick at 10:45 AM on January 11, 2012

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